Jamaican media mogul Oliver Clarke dies at 75

Oliver Frederick Clarke, the media mogul who stood at the helm of The Gleaner as chairman and managing director for more than four decades, has died.

Clarke died on Saturday at 9:45 p.m at his St Andrew home, ending his battle with cancer.

He was 75.

Months before his passing, Clarke stepped down as the chairman of the RJRGLEANER Group paving the way for Joseph M. Matalon to take the reins.

But up until his death, Clarke had remained chairman of 1834 Investments, the investment spin-off of The Gleaner Company Limited, which in 2015 started a process of merger with the RJR Group.

Forty-five per cent of 1834 Investments’ assets are real estate.

The company owns the property at 7 North Street, Kingston, which is home to The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited.

Born in Kingston in 1944, Clarke rose to prominence in the Jamaican private sector after completing his education at the Sherborne School and London School of Economics.

He joined The Gleaner in 1976 at the invitation of then chairman Leslie Ashenheim and is credited with leading the turnaround of the entity.

That turnaround of The Gleaner’s finances at the time placed the entity in a strong position to establish and defend its independence.

In 2017, Clarke was appointed Chairman of the newly launched subsidiary, the JN Bank, as well as the restructured mutual holding company, The Jamaica National Group and the JN Financial Holding Company.

Clarke is survived by his widow, Monica and daughter, Maria Alexandra.